Full & Half
A poem dedicated to twins separated before birth; and my friend, Anvita.
•Full•
A full nine months they were to wait to bring you and I into this world
Dadi wore a full smile for a boy and a girl
A phone full of calls when the relatives were told
Soon, a house full of voices, both young and old
A full life was ours to be, with two of everything to make complete
Two of all to make four, so there was never less, always more
Heads full of dreams for us and hearts full of love
But just before we were to arrive, a bed full of scarlet blood
The ambulance took a full hour to reach while our mother felt her world burn
A room full of screaming silence when you were gone, never to return.
•Half•
It took them half a day to bring me into this world
Half the joy when they welcomed their little baby girl
I breathed half the air, cried half the while
When Ma held me the first time, she wore half a smile
Half a mind on you when they did everything twice for me
Just half the memories and half the moments of what really could have been
Half a photo album filled with spaces left for you
Half the clothes I wore were pink, all the others blue
Half my life spent not knowing that there had ever been a ‘we’
It took our mother half an hour to tell the truth to me.
•Full & Half•
Half and Full, Full and Half
For every smile and every laugh
Is there a part which I do for you?
Talk, laugh, and think too much
Is that why I care as such?
I’d only ever counted half the stars in the sky
So when I heard the truth, there had never even been a lie;
Because somewhere deep inside, a part of me is a part of you
Because sometime long ago, we weren’t one half of a soul, but two.